Arsene Wenger Hits & Flops - Episode 1

Guys, from today we are starting a new blogging series of Arsene Wenger hits and flops. Most of our readers will be aware of the Arsene Wenger hits. We would like to bring the flops also into limelight. With utmost respect to all the players we start this blog. Please note that none of the players mentioned as Wenger flops are flops on the field. They were all great champions and are still considered greatest in Arsenal history. We are classifying based on the money Wenger spend and profit/loss made on each player featured. The serial numbers entitled for the player is based on our writers interest and does not indicate any significant factor in their game. Let's start with two greats "Nicolas Sebastien Anelka" and "Nwanko Christian Nwosu Kanu". The two N's.

Wenger Hit No.1
1. Nicolas Sebastien Anelka


Anelka's was one of the best signing Arsene Wenger ever got in his footballing career. Wenger created the first gem with his magic through Anelka. At a very young age of 17, Anelka joined Arsenal for a fee of £500,000. He became a regular when Ian Wright the best striker for Arsenal on those days got injured for long term. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year for 1998-99. He was always looking for better salary from his very young age. The problem with anyone who just needs more money is there is always another club who pays more than yours for you. It happened to be Real Madrid that time and who are one of the best money minters always. He was nick named "Le Sulk" for his attitude during those days. Anelka was a gem of a striker which he is still. He had wonderful ability to play well on air, shoot and also dribble. He was also damn quick with the ball. He played for around 3 years for Arsenal and scored 18 goals from his 45 appearances. His career is quite interesting if you could follow. It always fascinates me how he adapts to a new team so quickly. He was an instant success anywhere he went. His professional career started from the grant start he got in Arsenal. Wenger spotted him at 17 and now at 30 he still stands tall among world's best strikers. He was sold to Real Madird for £22million which is 4300% increase for Wenger.

Clubs Played For:
1. Paris Saint-Germain
2. Arsenal
3. Real Madrid
4. Paris Saint-Germain
5. Liverpool
6. Manchester City
7. Fenerbahce
8. Bolton
9. Chelsea

Wenger Flop No.1
2. Nwanko Christian Nwosu Kanu

Kanu started off for Arsenal in 1999. He came to Gunners camp for a fee of £4.15 million. Kanu came to limelight after the departure of former great Anelka. He was overshadowed by Anelka's brilliance. Arsenal supporters those days used to chant "Who needs Anelka, when we've got Kanu" during matches. He was always a player with log of tricks. He used to fool the defenders with his wonderful dribbling skills. His wonderful matches include the home win against Chelsea after trailing 2-0 in 75mins. This was a match when Kanu scored a hatrick to cruise Arsenal to victory. He had a trademark two finger salute whenever he scored. He was always used as a super-sub by Arsene Wenger and to be frank Kanu did his job remarkably well too. The flop part comes here. This guy ran out of contract in Arsenal and later joined West Bromwich Albion for a free transfer. Remember the fact that he was voted 13th among the Gunners Greatest 50 players poll. He made 110 appearances cracking 30 goals and most of it as substitute during his 5years in Arsenal. He had won African Player of the Year award 2 times and his performances in International Level are notable. He helped Nigeria to get Olympic Gold defeating wonderful Brazil in finals. Kanu's significance became a question mark after the emergence of another Arsenal great Thierry Henry.

Clubs Played For:
1. Fed Works
2. Iwuanyanwu Nationale
3. Ajax
4. Inter Milan
5. Arsenal
6. West Bromwich Albion
7. Portsmouth

Watch out for more Arsene Wenger hits & flops on our next blog...